What is Quality Score in Google Ads, and how can you improve it?

When launching a campaign in Google Ads, it’s likely you’ll face the challenge of competing in a highly saturated market. There’s many brands and businesses fighting for their chance to appear in the top search results for specific keywords, and Google needs a way to decide which ads to show first.  

To organise this competition and prioritise ad quality for users, Google created a key metric: Quality Score. 

Quality Score is important to monitor in your SEA and SEM strategy. That’s why we’ve created this practical guide to help you understand it, how it’s calculated, and how to improve it to boost your ad performance. 

What is Quality Score in Google Ads? 

When you start a campaign in Google Ads, the platform’s algorithms analyse different aspects of your ad to figure out its relevance to users. For example:

• Does it match the keywords you selected?  
• Does it align clearly with the user’s search intent?  
• Does the landing page offer a good experience?  

This analysis results in the Quality Score. 

Per Google Ads Help,  

“Ad quality is an estimate of the experience that users have when they see your search ads and the quality of their experience once they reach your landing page”. 

Quality Score is essential because it directly influences campaign performance. As Google states, “Higher ad quality generally leads to better performance, including better ad positions and lower cost.” 

How is the Quality Score calculated? 

According to Google, three main components affect your Quality Score: 

• The relevance of the ad to the selected keywords: This refers not only to how well the ad matches the chosen keyword, but also to how well it aligns with user intent. Google evaluates performance based on the exact keyword, not semantic variations or combinations. 
• Expected click-through rate (CTR): Google estimates the likelihood that users will click on your ad when it is displayed. 
• Landing page experience: This measures the performance of the webpage users land on after clicking your ad. It includes factors like load time and page relevance. That’s why it’s essential to have an optimised landing page. 

Google compares these factors against other ads that have used the same keyword over the past three months. Each component is rated as “Above average”, “Average”, or “Below average”. If your rating is “Average” or “Below average,” there’s room for improvement. 

There are other non-determining factors that can influence your Quality Score, such as whether the ad and landing page are optimised with responsive design for mobile devices.  

Google also values historical keyword bidding, meaning that related keyword usage in previous ads can boost your score. 

Where to find your campaign’s Quality Score 

To check your campaign’s Quality Score, follow these steps in Google Ads: 

1. Click the megaphone icon (“Campaigns”) in your Google Ads account. 
2. Go to “Audiences, keywords and content.” 
3. Select “Search Keywords.” 
4. In the top-right corner of the table, click ‘Columns’. 
5. Select ‘Modify columns’, then select ‘Quality Score’ in the drop-down menu that appears.
6. You’ll see a score for each component selected. The ratings are:
   • 1-3: low
   • 4-6: average
   • 7-10: good.

You can also view historical data for your Quality Score in the same section. 

How the Quality Score impacts your Google Ads campaigns 

As mentioned, Quality Score significantly influences how your Google Ads campaigns perform. Your score can determine: 

• Whether your ad is shown: Google only displays ads that meet minimum quality standards. If your score is too low, your ad may not appear, even if your bid is competitive. 
• Ad position on the search engine results page (SERP): If two ads bid on the same keyword, the one with the higher score will be ranked first. 
• Eligibility for ad extensions: A high Quality Score can encourage Google to show extra elements like CTAs, site links, or additional text. 
• Cost per click (CPC): Higher-quality ads usually pay less per click (PPC). Low-scoring ads may be forced to bid closer to their maximum PPC, even with low competition. 
• Overall ad performance: Ads and landing pages with higher quality and relevance consistently produce better results, and Google rewards this by showing them more often. 

How to improve your Quality Score 

Have you checked your Quality Score and found it lacking? Don’t panic—nothing is set in stone. You can turn things around with a few updates to your ads and landing pages. Let’s look at the steps you can take: 

Improve the relevance of your ad copy to the keyword 

Google favours ads that closely match both the keyword and the user’s search intent. If your ad’s relevance score is low, tweak your copy to better align with what the user is searching for. 

Algunas medidas que puedes tomar son:

• Adjust the ad copy to match search terms more directly. 
• Split large ad groups with many unrelated keywords into smaller, more focused groups. 
• Group keywords by theme. 

Let’s look at an example. Suppose you run an online shoe store, and your keywords are “women’s party shoes,” “women’s leather boots,” and “women’s athletic sneakers.” A generic ad like “Shop women’s shoes: variety & discounts” won’t be highly relevant to any of those searches. 

Instead, you can create three separate ad groups: 

• “Party shoes for women: Shine bright with our best deals” 
• “Women’s leather boots – style and comfort for winter. Free shipping.” 
• “Women’s athletic sneakers: maximum comfort for your workout!” 

Improve your expected CTR 

Google analyses your ad content to estimate the likelihood of clicks. A low CTR score may indicate that you need to adjust the appeal of your messaging. 

To improve your CTR, you can: 

• Create a more attractive offer: e.g., “Free shipping” or “Up to 50% off.” 
• Align your message more closely with search intent: For instance, if the keyword signals a transactional intent, the ad should clearly highlight a purchase option. 
• Use strong CTAs (calls to action): e.g., “Subscribe now,” “Try it free,” “Sign up,” “Order today.” 

Optimise your landing page 

Google also tracks what happens after a user clicks your ad. A high bounce rate (users quickly leaving the page) can reduce your Quality Score. 

“Bringing people to your site is only one part of online marketing. It’s important to provide visitors with an excellent experience on your website”, explains Google Ads Help. 

Here are some steps to improve your landing page: 

• Match the destination with what the ad promises: If your ad mentions “running shoes,” but the landing page shows football jerseys, it’s time to update the link. Similarly, your score may drop if your ad says ‘Up to 50% off’, but the discount is not available on the page. 
• Offer a great user experience: A cluttered or distracting page frustrates users. Less is more, and clean, well-organised layouts increase conversions. If you want to know more, check out our guide on UX audits.
• Optimise for mobile. Google favours responsive design that adapts to the user’s device. If your site looks fine on desktop but performs poorly on mobile, it can hurt your score. Today, over 60% of searches happen on mobile according to Sistrix.
• Improve load speed. Having a slow website, whether due to heavy files or server issues, will lower your score. If you use WordPress, you can try tools like WP Rocket to improve your performance. Want to learn more? Check out our page speed optimisation guide. 

These actions will improve your Quality Score, as well as strengthen your overall SEM strategy, especially your SEO performance. 

Improving your Quality Score goes beyond Google Ads 

Quality Score tells you more than just your ad performance. It’s a compass that helps you improve your entire website. By optimising your content’s relevance and the landing page experience, you’ll boost your ad results and offer users a faster, clearer, and more helpful experience. In turn, this can drive more conversions and long-term customer loyalty.